Proactive Investors - Cannabis stocks on Friday booked their fifth-straight week of positive returns led by the Advisorshares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS) which gained 12% to finish the week at about $10.30.
The Advisorshares Pure Cannabis (NYSE:YOLO) (YOLO), which provides exposure to global cannabis companies, gained 5.6% at about $3.80.
In the year-to-date as of Friday, February 2, MSOS has gained 45.6% and YOLO 25.8%.
As analysts at Water Tower Research highlighted, the gap between US and foreign cannabis stock performance continues to widen.
Recent top performers include Trulieve (CSE:TRUL) Cannabis Corp. (CSE:TRUL) which has added 27.2% last week, 112% in the year-to-date, and 213% since the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended the rescheduling of marijuana as a lower-risk drug on August 29, 2023.
“Trulieve would be a big beneficiary of 280E removal (due to its retail footprint) and has the most stores of any publicly traded company in Florida and Pennsylvania, two key states that may begin adult-use sales in 2025,” the analysts wrote.
Other cannabis stocks with significant gains last week were Cresco Labs Inc (CSE:CL) (CSE:CL, OTCQX:CRLBF) which added 30.5% and Jushi Holdings Inc (NLB:JUSH) (CSE:JUSH, OTCQX:JUSHF) which was up 30.4%.
The Water Tower analysts noted that with a quieter calendar until cannabis earnings season kicks off in a few weeks, all eyes will be on momentum and technical indicators.
“With five straight weeks of positive performance and MSOS above $1 billion and a $10 share price, we see interest increasing,” they wrote.
“We continue to see institutions seeking education on cannabis but believe it will take the Drug Enforcement Agency’s response [to the HHS recommendation on marijuana rescheduling] and perhaps a final ruling until more of them begin allocating capital.”